Gurgaon is my favourite city: Mika

Recently in Gurgaon to party with the contestants of a singing reality show at his farmhouse near Damdama Lake, Mika Singh talks about the city and reality shows.
Mika Singh was recently in Gurgaon to spend some quality time at his farmhouse near Damdama Lake. A boat ride across the lake takes you to his farmhouse that houses the singer’s pet cows, horses and dogs.While the singer doesn’t get much time to be here, he makes it a point to visit this place twice a year. On his trip this time, the singer invited the contestants from The Voice India and partied with them. Excerpts from a chat:
Gurgaon is my favourite city
Gurgaon has become my favourite city because I have my farmhouse here. The city has developed a lot and looks like Dubai. The apartments and villas here have such great facilities. Earlier it would take me almost one and a half hours to reach the farmhouse from my family home in Janakpuri, but now that I have a few houses in Gurgaon, I can reach the farmhouse quickly.
Had the farmhouse Before I entered Bollywood
Many people think that I built this farmhouse after making it big in Bollywood. But I wanted a farmhouse and had been saving for it since 1998. I started building this in 2005 and it was ready by 2007, the year I entered Bollywood. I had come with some friends for a picnic here to Damdama Lake. I found this place really beautiful and was told it belongs to the villagers. That time I had bought two acres here and now I own 100 acres. Even others have realised the potential of this place.
Some five star hotels are also opening here. The Taj has already opened here and even the Oberoi hotel will soon be setting base here. But I don’t want much development to take place here as I don’t want the forest and the lake to be affected. I always wanted a place around Delhi where I can come and relax. One cannot always go to Srinagar or Himachal for a vacation. I thought ki aadmi shikara ka maza yahin le le.
READ: Mika Singh's 'energetic' avatar in 'The Voice India'
People love to name their pets Mika
Most of my horses are named after singers. One of my horses is called Bebo (from the Black Eyed Peas song Bebot Bebot). The others are named JLo, Chris Black, Suzy and the youngest one is called Zara. I have seen that everyone wants to name their pet Mika. Achchi baat hai, isi bahane mujhe yaad toh karenge. Mika naam phir bhi suit hota hai. Lekin hamaare Bollywood singers ke naam desi hain jo mere ghodon ko suit nahi karenge.

Social media has given singers a lot of exposure
Aaj kal bahut easy ho gaya hai popular hona. Ek gaana gaa kar log popular ho jaate hain. Lekin uske baad inhe smart hona chahiye, aage jaane ke liye. They should be business-minded. People now get a lot of exposure because of different platforms. We didn’t have these sort of opportunities. We didn’t know how to sing or how to find our feet. Now, if a singer is in Kolkata or Punjab, it has become quite easy for them to reach out to Bollywood through social media. I am planning to start a YouTube channel for these singers so that their talent gets a platform. Jaise Coke Studio hai Pakistan mein aur woh wahaan zyaada strong hai. Waisa hi kuch yahaan main plan kar raha hoon.
Reality shows provide a good platform to music directors
The Voice India was a different show. The broadcasters were scared that it might not work. Earlier two big shows on the channel hadn’t worked. But I am always game for new things. More than singers, music directors benefit from reality shows. They gain recognition. Pehle koi nahi jaanta tha music directors ko, but reality shows ki wajah se unka naam hota hai. The judges of The Voice India were already popular but there are many other shows that have given a good platform to their judges. Not only contestants, but even coaches become popular. They become known faces. Even in dance reality shows, you see many new choreographers as judges.
Kake Da Dhaba is my favourite place in Delhi
I still come to Delhi. Kake Da Dhaba is my favourite place to eat and I still go there. I love their non-veg dishes and dal tadka. Wahaan par kaafi bheed rehti hai lekin main usually try karta hoon ki kam bheed ke samay jaaoon. Agar wahaan log mujhe pehchaan bhi lete hain toh main apna khaana khaata rehta hoon aur woh log photo kheenchte rehte hain.
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